Crash
by aninterestingturnofevents
Summary: Charlie is back at the Burrow, and a timely crash with Hermione changes their lives in a way that neither of them anticipated at all. Rated T for later chapters, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Charlie Weasley was in a sour mood. For one, the dragon reserve in Romania had stopped bringing in new dragons before closure, and he was being forced to move to Wales, to a new reserve. The friends that he'd made in Romania were all going to different countries; China, India, Thailand, Peru. He was the only one out of the group that was going back home.

_At least it's close to home_, he thought as he packed his meager belongings in a tattered duffel bag. An hour before his Portkey activated, he had enough time to go say goodbye to the dragons going to the other reserves. Slowly walking to each section designated for different dragons, he leaned against the railing in front of the magical barrier and gazed at the dragons that were snoozing as an effect of a sleeping potion. Ukranian Ironbellies were going back to their native country of Ukraine, and the Siamese Thorntails were already being prepared by a different trainer to Portkey to the Thai North East.

Three-quarters of an hour had passed since he'd begun walking, and he began the trek back to the main building. He was greeted by another trainer- a tall and lithe middle-aged German wizard with salt and pepper hair- who went by the name of Johannes, who was going to a reserve in the Mediterranean, a WIzarding island unbeknownst to Muggles.

"You, sad to leave?" the older trainer asked Charlie as both of them rested against the wall. Charlie hesitated before replying.

"I think I will. Spent more than ten years of my life here," he said, looking around at the almost-deserted departure hall. The last time he'd checked his watch, it had been ten minutes until they could leave. Now, they would be able to leave any minute.

"I will miss this." The other wizard sighed, bringing a hand up to massage his temple. Charlie nodded soberly in agreement.

A booming voice was magically amplified. "Portkey to Ottery St. Catchpole leaving in one minute and thirty seconds." Charlie bid goodbye to the other dragon trainer with a few words about good luck, and walked over to the empty Muggle cola can that served as a Portkey.

As the Portkey glowed bright blue and activated, Charlie felt the familiar tug against his navel as he reached a dingy, deserted Wizarding pub that was only used for Portkey landings in the area.

He pushed open the door of the pub and stepped into the crisp late autumn air of Ottery St. Catchpole. He could spot the crooked roof and numerous chimneys of the Burrow from here, and smiled slightly at the thought of the delicious dinner his mum would be booking tonight.

Upon his arrival at the Burrow, Charlie could indeed smell a delicious dinner cooking on the stove.

He placed his duffel bag on the floor next to the door and was immediately bombarded with hugs from Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.

"Look at you, Charlie! All skin and bones, we'll have you stuffed up before you start work in Wales, we shall!" Mrs. Weasley gushed as she assessed his injuries from an arm's length away, cringing as she saw his burns. "And we'll get all of those healed up properly. Don't know what kind of healers you have over in Romania but…"

Charlie momentarily ignored his mother as Ginny hugged him again.

"It's good to see you, Charlie," she said, sighing as she wrapped two arms around her big brother. He hugged her back, towering over her. Charlie ruffled her hair in the way he knew she hated.

"I missed you too, Gin. I'm sort of glad to be home, even if it means being in the same vicinity as _you_." He grinned good-heartedly at his only sister, "Just joking."

Suddenly, he noticed her stomach was rounder than usual. Surely she couldn't be!

"Are you…" he gulped. "Ginny! You're… pregnant?" he asked, eyes widened.

Ginny laughed. "Didn't I say that in one of the letters I owled you? Or at least in a Floo call?"

Charlie frowned instantly as Ginny confirmed it. "I must've forgotten. Anyway, congratulations to my baby sister! I'm going to be an uncle!" He grinned, "Although…" he looked in the direction of the living room where he could see Harry and Ron playing wizard's chess, "I must have a few words with your dear boyfriend."

"Fiancée Ginny corrected him.

He made his way through the kitchen as Ginny yelled, "Don't hurt him, Charlie!" behind him. He was halfway through the doorway when he crashed into something- or someone- petite.

He heard a feminine scream, and before he knew it, he was lying on top of a small girl with brown curly hair. He could smell vanilla shampoo from his position, and inhaled deeply. Suddenly realizing he was in the middle of the living room, he scrambled up and held out a hand to the girl. He took a good look at her face, and noted that she was pretty in a way. Chestnut locks, chocolate-brown eyes and plump pink bow-shaped lips.

"Hermione?" he heard Harry exclaim as he rushed over to help up the girl, pushing away Charlie's hand unintentionally. Charlie withdrew his hand, taking a few steps back.

Charlie stopped momentarily. _Hermione,_ he mused. She was his little brother's and Harry's best friend wasn't she, the know-it-all? She'd grown up to be a beauty, then; a complete three-sixty from the bushy haired awkward pre-teen she was the first time he'd met her one Christmas.

"Sorry," she apologized, brushing the front of her jeans as she stood up, aided by Harry.

"No, it should be me apologizing," he said in return, smiling. "Sorry for crashing into you." Hermione shook her head.

"It's fine."

She pulled the bottom of her jumper down and returned to the windowsill seat and resumed reading a book.

Charlie liked the feel of her soft body under his; it sent shivers tingling all over his body. He shook his head and went back into the kitchen to fix a hot mug of tea.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was having a bad day. By bad, she meant, for one thing, that nothing was going the way she needed it to go; second, she was bored out of her mind.

Earlier that morning, she'd gone out to do errands and she had failed to complete any of them. Firstly, she'd gone to Madam Malkin's to get new dress robes for a Ministry function, and she'd gotten the wrong order made. Secondly, Gringott's was closed for some unknown reason and she'd needed to make a transaction. Another horrible happening was that her co-worker from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (Roger MacDonald, the pervert he was) had been harassing her all week to go out on a date, and with each polite refusal of his invitations sent via owl, the invitations only increased. To say the least, Hermione Granger was one pissed-off woman. She'd also had to move from her perfectly nice flat in the north side of London to the Burrow because they were going to demolish the buildings to build a new shopping mall. For the moment, she was bunking in Charlie's old room.

She'd moodily stomped down the stairs into the living room, and took up residence on the window seat, book in hand. For perhaps an hour, she'd been reading until she heard the sound of Mrs. Weasley and Ginny announcing Charlie's arrival. Hermione was about to walk into the kitchen. She was halfway through the doorway when she collided with a body and crashed onto the floor. Hearing Harry exclaim her name as he ran over to her, she only saw a blur of the signature Weasley hair before she lay sprawled on the floor.

She groaned as the weight of Charlie Weasley lay on top of her. She was suddenly feeling warm in the places she usually decidedly did _not_ feel warm in and blushed as Charlie stood up awkwardly and extended a hand, but Harry picked her up by the arm and helped her arm, leaving Charlie standing without a purpose. She shot him a weak smile and apologized profusely, which he denied.

"It should me apologizing," he said in return, smiling. "Sorry for crashing into you." Hermione shook her head.

"It's fine." Sending him a final grin, she went off to finish the last two chapters of the gripping mystery novel she was reading. She heard Charlie leave the room and disappear into the kitchen where she heard the _clink_ of the ceramic mugs.

She was confused with the feelings that were coursing through her mind and body at the moment. Attraction or lust? Charlie Weasley? She shook her head and tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

In the least, dinner was an awkward affair for both Charlie and Hermione. Dinner had already started when Charlie had emerged from the shower, and the only available seat at the packed dining table was directly opposite to Hermione. Sliding into his seat, he tried his best to distract himself from the intoxicating scent of Hermione's vanilla shampoo. He could see her visibly fidgeting in her seat and felt guilty, so he turned his attention onto his food.

"Charlie, dear, eat up!" his mum said from her seat, passing a bowl of mashed potatoes his way. He scooped up a spoonful of potatoes as he listened into Harry and Ron's conversation.

"This morning, Shacklebolt sent me on a trip to supposedly find another group of Death Eater supporters, but it turns out that the group is in China or something, so that country's Auror forces are going to deal with them," Harry was saying.

"Yeah, he's sending me to Germany next week I think. Luna's worried because its apparently Cashmere Flooby season or something of the sort," Ron said, mouth full of roast.

"Are you guys serious now?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking to propose to her next month…" Ron replied, but the rest of his sentence was tuned out by Charlie as he mentally congratulated himself on his newfound luck. Hermione was single! And not dating his brother! He had somewhat of a chance with Hermione now. The older Weasley turned to his younger brother.

Charlie patted Ron's back. "Did I just hear that you're proposing to Luna?"

Ron flushed bright red. "Yeah."

"Good job, mate," Charlie said.

Harry leaned across Ron. "He hasn't got the guts to propose yet though. Bloody chicken."

"Oi! I resent that!" Charlie heard Ron exclaim. He chuckled and resumed eating, stealing glances every-so-often, at Hermione.

Hermione was feeling uncomfortable. Charlie kept stealing glances at her, making her skin tingle and stomach feel funny on reflex. She picked at her food; it was roast pork with caramelized carrots, one of the dishes she loved the most. However, tonight she felt as if all her appetite had disappeared with the arrival of a certain Weasley male.

"Hermione!" She heard Ron say. She lifted her head from where she was looking at her hands loosely clasped in her lap.

"Yes?"

"I was just telling Charlie about the time we tried to go on a date at the Muggle carnival, and how it failed. Remember the candy floss incident with the vendor?" he guffawed, Hermione giving a forced laugh.

"Yes, it was quite the sight, Ronald."

"This is why we aren't dating, eh, Hermione?"

Hermione laughed again, this time for real. "Yes; that and your despicable housekeeping skills." She wrinkled her nose. "I wonder how Luna deals with you."

Ron kept laughing even as the smile slipped off Hermione's face once again and she stared back at her plate, picking at the food. _How do I gather the courage to speak to Charlie? _

Hermione shook her head, and turned to her left and started a conversation with George and Angelina, as she felt the back of her head burn with the power of Charlie's gaze.

* * *

Charlie was feeling a little miffed. She was blatantly ignoring his glances her way as she conversed with George and his girlfriend.

Dinner passed quite uneventfully. Dessert was trifle and firewhiskey (not for Ginny!), and conversations became quieter as everyone yawned and retired for the nigh, half-drunk.

Soon enough, it was only Charlie and Hermione sitting in the living room, half-drunk bottle of firewhiskey in hand. Hermione was half-inebriated, and Charlie was on the verge of collapsing.

Hermione had no idea what possessed her to say it; her speech-thought filter was hazy and as her eyes raked over Charlie's body and that sliver of skin visible beneath his shirt, she couldn't help it. "You look so delicious," she mumbled.

Charlie, who was half-asleep, jolted awake as he heard her say those words. Delicious? He brushed it off and sent her a lazy wink.

"You don't look too bad either, Miss Granger." He saw her smile in drunken bliss as she took another sip of firewhiskey. "I think you should let go of that bottle, Hermione," he slurred, pointing at the bottle.

"Nah," she said, toying with the bottle in her hands. "Actually, I think I'll go up and go to bed." Hermione stood up shakily, wobbling on her two feet.

"Do you need a 'and?" Charlie asked, shakily standing up as well.

Hermione tilted her head. "Maybe…" She took a tentative step and almost fell. "I 'hink I," she hiccoughed, "migh' need a hand." She looped one arm around his shoulders and together, the two slowly hobbled towards the stairs.

"We sound like 'Agrid," Charlie murmured the side of his face resting on the top of Hermione's head. She laughed.

The two reached the bottom of the stairs and began the tricky climb up. Various thing swirled around Hermione's inebriated mind; Charliesmellsgoodhesmellslikefreshlymowedgrassandy ummystuffheissodeliciousandhmmmmmmm-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Charlie crashing onto the stairs below their feet and landing rather painfully on his back and she had a split-second before she too went down with him. Hermione landed with a head-throbbing 'oomph!' on top of Charlie, and laid her head on his chest, taking deep breaths to organize her thoughts again.

Suddenly, she realized she was _on top_ of _Charlie Weasley_. On top. Hip-to-hip, chest-to-chest. It was difficult to ignore the pools of desire forming in her stomach, so Hermione dared. She tentatively brushed her lips against his. Shivering, she pressed her lips against his and relished in the taste of Firewhiskey on his lips.

The kiss got heated as Charlie realized what Hermione was doing; desire rolling off him in waves, he sat up rapidly as Hermione straddled his lap.

"Mione…" he murmured against her lips.

She pulled back from him, eyes burning with desire. "Charlie?" She nibbled on her bottom lip.

"N-Not on the stairs." Shakily, he stood up, carrying her around his waist, feeling slightly less Firewhiskey-inebriated, just high off the aftereffects of kissing the girl in front of him. Hermione laid her head against the crook between his neck and shoulder. "Mmm…" he groaned as Hermione kissed the spot she was leaning her head against.

He reached his- and Hermione's- room, and swung the door shut, depositing Hermione on the bed. She breathed heavily and looked up at him.

Needless to say, neither of them slept that night. Silencing and locking charms were cast as the pair dissolved into passion and desire.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**As this story is rated T, there will be no explicit smut scenes (I feel uncomfortable writing them...)**

**Thanks for the reviews and follows so far! **

**x**


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione blearily opened one eye as she woke up; sitting up and stretching with the massive headache she had acquired, she realized the mattress dipped to her right. Turning her head to her left, she almost shrieked in shock.

_Charlie was in her bed?_ She scrambled out of bed, almost falling flat on her face as she got her ankle tangled in the sheets.

Suddenly, she felt the cold draft chill her body to the bone, and as she reached for the sleeve of the shirt she normally wore to sleep, she couldn't feel anything. She glanced down at her chest and froze. S_he wasn't wearing a shirt; or underwear!_ Gasping, she grabbed the blanket and pulled it out from over Charlie's slumbering body.

He jerked awake, blinking numerous times. "Hermione? Why are you- oh, bloody hell," he swore softly as he too realized he was stark naked.

Hermione bit her lip and blushed. "Guess we both had a bit too much to drink?" she said timidly, refusing to make eye contact.

Charlie nodded slowly. "Um… Well, I'll, um, go and change my clothes. I'll see you… sometime, downstairs, breakfast, yeah."

He grabbed a towel from the hook on the bedroom door, wrapping it quickly around his waist without making eye contact with Hermione then ran as fast as he could, out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving Hermione standing up to the left of the bed, wrapped in a blanket.

She sank down onto the bed, thinking hard. Things would _definitely_ be awkward between Charlie and herself. She'd acted irrationally and rashly, without thinking of the consequences. Charlie and Hermione had had a decent friendship; he was much better company than Ron or the twins- they could have intelligent conversations about magical creatures, and for one, he supported the few legislations the Ministry had recently written about the treatment of house elves, werewolves and dragons. He was also a much better sight to look at- muscular, tall (second-tallest in the family; no one could beat Fred or George), with a shock of tousled just-got-out-of-bed hair that could rival Harry's.

Hermione sighed. She knew she fancied Charlie now, there was no denying it; and after the activities of last night, her chances with him would've been absolutely squandered. She sighed and ran a hand through her untamed hair, picking up a new pair of shorts and a t-shirt to go change into.

* * *

Charlie was mortified. What had he and Hermione done last night? Lovemaking, definitely; had he revealed any secrets? He tilted his head to the side, letting the warm water of the shower cascade down the left side of his face and rinse off the last of the bubbles, as he realized the 'secret' of him fancying Hermione had probably been revealed to her the first moment they gave in to passion… He sighed and stepped out of the shower and scrubbed the towel furiously through his dark orange hair. He let it flop to the side as he emerged from the shower dressed in a fresh shirt.

Letting his nose guide his stomach, he found himself downstairs in the kitchen with the rest of the Weasley clan.

"Good morning," said his mum, tiptoeing to peck his cheek as she passed him with a pan of bacon. "Get a good night's sleep on your first night back?"

Charlie smirked. "Yes, mum."

"Yeah Charlie," snickered George.

"Where _did_ you sleep last night?" finished Fred.

Both twins winked in unison at him. Charlie scowled at them as they laughed quietly from their seats. He took a seat next to his dad, and heaped himself a plate of breakfast foods.

"Good morning everyone!" he heard Hermione say to the Weasleys, (falsely) cheerful.

"Morning!" they chorused back. Mrs. Weasley bustled Hermione to a seat, and piled her plate high with eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins-

"Mum," George began, eyeing his mother filling up Hermione's plate, "I think Hermione is _perfectly_ capable of filling her own plate."

Hermione laughed. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley, thank you." Accepting the plate, she began to eat, but stopped the fork halfway to her mouth. Her narrowed her eyes at the twins. "What?"

They were smirking at her; eerily identical smirks. Lowering their voices to a whisper, George spoke first.

"So you and Charlie, huh?" George winked.

Hermione gaped. "What in the world made you think that?"

"It's pretty easy to tell, Hermione. You both come down here looking like you've just had a good shag," Fred replied for his twin, smirking evilly.

"I- I- I just- What? No. We did _nothing_ of the sort," she had hotly, arms folded across her chest defensively.

"We'll see," George said as he smirked at her darkly. Now both twins were smirking; however, one twin was smirking in a mock-evil fashion, while the other was smug and confident.

"You wish," she sniffed haughtily.

"We will," Fred promised, pointing his fork at her. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Charlie was watching this strange exchange from his seat on the opposite side of the table. He and Hermione had to sort things out- soon.

* * *

**From the previous chapter, if any of you are interested in writing the smut scene that will be released as a one-shot on my profile, please PM me! Thanks for the reviews, keep it up, it gives me motivation to write :) xx**


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione lay on her back in the soft grass to the west of the Burrow, near the pond. A light breeze blew her way. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She blinked as she saw a shadow loom over her. She sat up.

"Charlie?" she asked, as he sat himself down next to her.

"What happened last night?" he asked, ignoring her question. She glanced at him, then back down at her lap.

"I honestly do not know. We were definitely drunk, though." Charlie nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "And I- um, I was hoping we could still be friends."

"Friends?" Charlie echoed, gazing at her. "Of course; why wouldn't we be friends?"

Hermione stiffened. "Well, I… I don't know…"

Charlie smiled gently. "'Course we can still be friends, Hermione. Let's just…" he trailed off as he propped his elbows onto his bent knees.

"Let's just forget what happened, yeah?" Hermione filled in, staring in the same direction as Charlie, arms stretched down behind her back.

"Yeah."

They continued staring off into the distance, the miniscule figures of Harry and Ron zooming in the air on their broomsticks.

Charlie glanced at his watch and stood up, extending a hand down to her to help her up. "Should we go into the house for Sunday lunch?"

Hermione smiled. "That'd be great." She took Charlie's proffered hand, and pulled herself to her feet. Brushing off grass from her shirt, she asked, "What do you think's for lunch?"

* * *

Lunch was a complete three-sixty degree spin from the awkwardness of breakfast. Everyone chatted jovially with each other over sandwiches, chicken drumsticks, and salad.

Hermione sat across from Charlie, engaged in Fred and George's conversation about the newest, and top-secret, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products being released that evening.

"They-" started George from his place next to Charlie.

"Going to be the best inventions-" Fred interjected.

"That we've made-"

"In _forever_."

"Won't you give us a hint to what they do, though?" Hermione asked for the third time. Surprises weren't her thing, and frankly, it irritated her not to know something.

The twins shook their heads simultaneously. "_No_," they said together wearily.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at them and sat back in her chair. "Merlin, I'm so full."

Mrs. Weasley turned her head in Hermione's direction. "Good, because there's rhubarb pie for dessert."

Hermione groaned. Fred nudged her in the elbow from his seat to her right.

"Hey."

She turned to him. "Yes, Fred?"

"You and my big brother Charlie made up, yeah?"

Frowning, she replied; "Yes… we did. Why are you so interested in Charlie and me anyway?"

Fred laughed. "Yeah, are you sure you and Charlie are 'just friends'?" he asked, using air quotation marks. Hermione glowered at him.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure Charlie and I are just friends…"

He scoffed. "Right, Hermione. I'm sure."

Hermione smacked him on the arm. "Yeah, we _are_ friends, nothing more yet."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Yet?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes as she blushed in embarrassment. "No- No! I didn't mean it in that way. Oh, Merlin, Fred. Stop." Deliberately turning to Ginny, to her left, she started a conversation and ignored Fred.

Mrs. Weasley charmed the plates of pie to sit at each place with a flick of her wand.

"Eat up! We're all going to Diagon Alley today to help Fred and George for their product opening!" she said, beaming. "And while you're at it, we'll do some shopping!"

Turning to Harry, she asked, "What time is Andromeda dropping off Teddy?"

Hermione laughed as she saw Harry's face turn pale.

"Oh bollocks, what time is it? One-thirty? I forgot to ask her what time she'd be here!" Scooting out of his seat, he rushed to the living room fireplace to Floo his godson's grandmother.

Fred and George ate their dessert as quickly as they could and hopped off to the fireplace.

"Mum! We're heading to the shop! Lee said he'd meet us there at two!" one of the twins hollered to Mrs. Weasley over the hubbub of the kitchen.

"Alright, dear, we'll meet you there at four," she called back.

Diagon Alley was bustling with people in the late afternoon as the Weasley clan trudged through the crowds to reach the twins' store. The sign on the door was garishly colored in magenta and neon green, proclaiming the time and date of the product opening (_"The most anticipated product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! Come have a first glance at the newest invention of the Weasley twins!"_). Hermione assumed that people would start coming into the shop in hordes after the new products were released, therefore making the shop pretty much empty before then.

They were met with a loud _boom _as various fireworks exploded around them. Hermione found Verity working the cash register.

"Hey, Hermione!" the blonde smiled, finishing up one customer's checkout. "Are you here for the product revealing?"

"Yes, the whole family's here," Hermione replied, pointing in the vague direction. "Do you know where I can find the twins?"

Verity pointed to the door of the backroom. "In there."

Hermione thanked Verity and made her way towards the magenta door of the backroom. She knocked hesitantly on the door. It creaked open, and the smell of gunpowder drifted out. Coughing, she entered the room.

The twins were hunched over a bubbling cauldron, jotting down notes studiously.

"Need any potions help?" she asked. "I have nothing to do until you guys reveal the product."

"Yep, actually," George said, peering into the cauldron. "This is a temporary height-increasing potion we're trying to make… Did we add too much water lizard scales?"

Hermione haphazardly tiptoed through the clutter on the floor to look inside their cauldron.

"It _does_ look a tad too shiny for a height potion," she mused. "You should add some water lily root. It will make the potion more effective." As George chopped up the root, she turned to Fred. "Does this room perpetually smell of gunpowder?"

He shrugged. "I guess. Back when we made those fireworks that scared off Umbridge."

She laughed, "That was absolutely brilliant. Dangerous but nonetheless, fantastic!" He winked at her.

"That's our thing; dangerous but fantastic."

"Are we ready for the opening, Freddie? Did you tell Verity to time the firework releasing and the showers?" George asked. As Fred replied the affirmative, he scraped the contents of the chopping board into the cauldron. Hermione and George watched as the potion frothed and dulled a little. "Ah, thanks Hermione. It looks much better."

"Glad to help," she replied, poring through their scarcely filled bookcase. "You guys need more book in here."

George nudged Freddie over the cauldron. "She says we need more books. Books, eh? _Books?_"

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews and follows! This fanfiction isn't going to be very long- this will be one of the last chapters. **

**Part 2 of the 'opening' will be in the next chapter. **


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